Happy St. Baldrick's Day!

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, which is how exactly how the gizmo pictured here came to be. Baldie Todd Greene couldn't seem to give his head a clean shave with a standard razor, so he developed this contraption, patented its bladed handle — and the HeadBlade was born.

When it was launched a decade ago, Greene's creation was dubbed the best invention of the year by Time Magazine; it's in the permanent design collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art and has spawned a full line of scalp care products (from sunblock to mattifying lotion) as well.

But HeadBlade isn't just about personal grooming. The company is deeply committed to finding a cure for children's cancer; to that end, it has been a national sponsor for years of the St. Baldrick's Foundation, which is the biggest organizer of volunteer-driven fundraisers for the cause in the world. At the group's events, men are sponsored by friends and family to have their heads shaved, with proceeds going to juvenile cancer research. (The room full of baldies also shows solidarity with young cancer patients who have temporarily lost their own hair while undergoing chemotherapy treatments.) HeadBlade provides all the equipment for these shave-a-thons, and also offers a line of special items that include a donation to the charity.

"In the nine years that it has been organizing these sponsored shaves, St. Baldrick's has raised over $50 million in research funds. Events happen in towns all across America and in countries around the world, as far flung as Iran, Iraq, India and Australia. And if you've never heard of St. Baldrick, that's because the name is an invented combination of the words "bald" and "St. Patrick's Day," a reminder of the day three friends first got together to shave their heads for charity and ultimately create this worthy charity.

St. Paddy's Day is still a big holiday in the St. Baldrick's calendar. This month there are shave-a-thons all across the country to mark the occasion, with plenty actually happening March 17. If you can't imagine shearing off your locks, you can always volunteer to be one of the shavers or sponsor someone going under the razor. Whatever your involvement, helping kids with cancer makes bald very, very beautiful.

To participate in a St. Baldrick's event, go to www.StBaldricks.org.

For more information on Headblade products, go to www.headblade.com.